Optical lens cleaner

ABSTRACT

An optical lens cleaner has a housing, a cleaning fluid bottle, a cleaning tissue/cloth and a cleaning brush. The housing has an opening in its top, at least one push hole, a sliding groove, and an access slit for accessing the cleaning tissue/cloth stored within the housing. The cleaning fluid bottle has a main body received within the housing and a nozzle exposed by the opening. The main body of the cleaning fluid bottle is exposed by push holes. The cleaning brush is received within the housing. A brush handle is slideably positioned in the sliding groove. A brush head extends from and is exposed by the housing. The cleaning fluid bottle and the cleaning brush are connected with the housing. It is convenient to use and carry the optical lens cleaner. The cleaning tools of the optical lens cleaner will not be lost or polluted by dust.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an optical lens cleaner, and inparticular to an optical lens cleaner used to clean optical lens ofcameras or video recorders and has a cleaning brush, cleaning tissue anda cleaning fluid bottle.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventional optical lens cleaner includes a variety of discrete andseparate cleaning tools such as a storage pocket, a brush, cleaningtissue, cleaning fluid, and a paper clip. When a user wants to clean anoptical lens, the user uses a brush to remove dust. Cleaning fluid isdripping onto the optical lens, and then the paper clip is used withcleaning tissue to clean the optical lens.

However, there are disadvantages of the conventional optical lenscleaners. The storage pocket is not completely sealed, so dust or dirtis attached to the cleaning tissue in the storage pocket and it is noteasy to clean the optical lens completely. Besides, cleaning tools areseparately stored within the storage pocket. The cleaning tools must bereturned to the storage pocket; otherwise, cleaning tools are lost. Itis not convenient for a user to clean an optical lens with theconventional optical lens cleaner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical lenscleaner. The optical lens cleaner includes a cleaning fluid bottle, acleaning tissue/cloth, and a cleaning brush, for convenient use andcarrying of the optical lens cleaner. The present invention prevents thecleaning tools from being lost and from being polluted by dust.

To achieve object of the present invention, an optical lens cleanerincludes a housing, a cleaning fluid bottle and a cleaning brush. Anopening is positioned at the top of the housing, and a sliding groove ispositioned at one side of the housing. The housing also includes anaccess slit for accessing the cleaning tissues/cloth. The cleaning fluidbottle includes a main body received within the housing and a nozzleexposed by the opening. The main body of the cleaning fluid bottle isexposed by push holes. The cleaning brush is received within thehousing. A brush handle is slideably positioned at the sliding groove. Abrush head extends from and is exposed by the housing.

According to the present invention, the cleaning fluid bottle, thecleaning tissue and the cleaning brush are stored in the housing of theoptical lens cleaner. The optical lens cleaner is conveniently used andcarried. The cleaning tool of the optical lens cleaner will not be lostor polluted by dust.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be fully understood from the followingdetailed description and preferred embodiment with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an optical lens cleaner accordingto the first embodiment of the present invention, with a brush head of acleaning brush exposed by the housing;

FIG. 2 is another side elevational view of an optical lens cleaneraccording to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a second half housing, a cleaningfluid bottle, a cleaning brush, an optical lens cleaner, and a cover ofthe optical lens cleaner according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the housing taken along line 4-4 ofFIG. 3, with the cleaning fluid bottle, the cover, and cleaning tissueomitted;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the housing taken along line 5-5 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the housing taken along line 6-6 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an optical lens cleaner according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of a second half housing, a cleaningfluid bottle, a cleaning brush, and an optical lens cleaner, and a coverof the optical lens cleaner according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the housing taken along line 9-9 ofFIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the housing taken along line 10-10of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an optical lens cleaner accordingto the second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a housing according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplatedmodes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be takenin a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustratinggeneral principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of theinvention is best defined by the appended claims.

Reference is made to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIGS. 1 to 6 illustrate an opticallens cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention.FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively illustrate a front elevational view and aside elevational view of the optical lens cleaner according to the firstembodiment of the present invention. According to the present invention,the optical lens cleaner 1 includes a housing 2, a cleaning brush 3 anda cleaning fluid bottle 4. Because the optical lens cleaner 1 includesall cleaning tools, it is convenient to carry.

Reference is made to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional,partial view of the optical lens cleaner according to the secondembodiment of the present invention. Reference is made to FIGS. 4-6.FIGS. 4-6 respectively illustrate cross-sectional views of the opticallens cleaner taken along lines 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 of FIG. 3. FIG. 4illustrates cross-sectional views of the optical lens cleaner with thecleaning fluid bottle 4 and the cover 5 omitted.

The housing 2 is substantially cylindrical and includes a first halfhousing 2 a and a second half housing 2 b. According to the embodiment,the first half housing 2 a and the second half housing 2 b havecorresponding coupling elements 28 a and 28 b. The housing 2 is therebyconveniently disassembled. An opening 21 is positioned in the top of thehousing 2, and the cleaning fluid bottle 4 is exposed thereby. A pair ofpush holes 26 a and 26 b is positioned in both sides of the housing 2 toallow the cleaning fluid bottle 4 to be pressed. A sliding groove 22 andan access slit 240 are formed on sides of the housing 2 respectively.The cleaning brush 3 is slidably positioned in the sliding groove 22,and the access slit 240 is used to access cleaning tissue 100 (or arecycled cleaning cloth) stored within the housing 2.

Reference is made to FIG. 3. Specifically speaking, the housing 2 isadapted to receive the cleaning brush 3. A bottom through hole 220 and aside groove hole 221 are respectively positioned in the bottom and theside of the housing 2, and the bottom through hole 220 and the sidegroove hole 221 are in communication with the sliding groove 22. Aslidable stop plate 27 is positioned at the housing 2 and near thesliding groove 22, and the slidable stop plate 27 includes a pluralityof positioning grooves 272.

The cleaning brush 3 includes a main body 32 slidably positioned in thesliding groove 22. A button 34 is exposed by the side groove hole 221. Abrush head 36 is extended and exposed from the housing 2 through thebottom through hole 220. According to the embodiment, the main body 32of the cleaning brush 3 has a recess (not numbered) at one end thereofto receive the brush head 36. Besides, the brush head 36 may be attachedto a periphery of one end of the main body 32.

The bottom of the cleaning brush 3 abuts the slidable stop plate 27. Apositioning pin 38 is extended from the main body 32 of the cleaningbrush 3 and is slidably positioned in one of the positioning grooves272. According to the embodiment, the cleaning brush 3 is receivedwithin the lower end of the housing 2 and positioned at one side of thecleaning tissue 100. Besides, as shown in FIG. 1, the housing 2 alsoincludes a guide groove 23 so that the cleaning brush 3 is manuallyguided along the guide groove 23.

According to the present invention, the housing 2 also has a removableplate 24. The cleaning tissue 100 is received within the lower end ofthe housing 2 and is exposed by the access slit 240. The removable plate24 is retractable and extends from the fringe of the second half housing2 b to be near the access slit 240 and to access the cleaning tissue100. A rack 242 is integrally formed with the fringe of the removableplate 24 so that the cleaning tissue 100 is easily cut off. The firsthalf housing 2 a also includes a pair of stop blocks 25 positioned nearthe access slit 240 and on both sides of the removable plate 24 toenhance the structure of the housing 2 and to position the removableplate 24. The cleaning tissue 100 is continuous or interlaced. Accordingto the present invention, the continuous cleaning tissue is inexpensive.

Reference is made to FIG. 3. According to the embodiment, the cleaningfluid bottle 4 is received within the top end of the housing 2. Thecleaning fluid bottle 4 includes the main body 42 received within thehousing 2 and a nozzle 44 exposed by the opening 21. Reference is madeto FIGS. 3 and 4. The cleaning fluid bottle 4 is positioned between thecoupling elements 28 a and 28 b. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the mainbody 42 of the cleaning fluid bottle 4 are exposed by the push holes 26a and 26 b. Cleaning fluid is pumped out of the nozzle 44 of thecleaning fluid bottle 4 when the cleaning fluid bottle 4 is pressedthrough the push holes 26 a and 26 b.

According to the present invention, the optical lens cleaner 1 alsoincludes a cap 5 for covering the nozzle 44 of the cleaning fluid bottle4. According to the embodiment, the cap 5 screws onto the nozzle 44 ofthe cleaning fluid bottle 4. Alternatively, the cap 5 may snap onto thenozzle 44 of the cleaning fluid bottle 4.

When the optical lens cleaner 1 is in use, the button 34 of the cleaningbrush 3 is pushed so that the brush head 36 is exposed by the bottomthrough hole 220 to remove dust from an optical lens. The cap 5 isremoved and the main body 42 of the cleaning fluid bottle 4 is squeezedto pump cleaning fluid onto the optical lens. The cleaning tissue 100 isdrawn through the access slit 240 and cut off by the rack 242 of theremovable plate 24 to clean the optical lens. Thus, the optical lens isfully and simply cleaned.

Reference is made to FIGS. 7-11. FIGS. 7-11 illustrate the secondembodiment of the present invention. The optical lens cleaner 1′includes a housing 6, a cleaning brush 7 and a cleaning fluid bottle 8.

The housing 6 is substantially an elliptic cylinder. As shown in FIG. 9,the first half housing 6 a and the second half housing 6 b havecorresponding coupling elements 68 a and 68 b. An opening 61 ispositioned in the top of the housing 6. Push holes 66 a and 66 b, asliding groove 62 and an access slit 640 are positioned in sides of thehousing 6. The access slit 640 is used to access the cleaning tissue 100(or cleaning cloth) stored within the housing 6. A bottom through hole620 and a side groove hole 621 are respectively positioned in the bottomand the side of the housing 6. The removable plate 64 is retractable andextends from the fringe of the second half housing 6 b to be near theaccess slit 640. A rack 642 is integrally formed with the fringe of theremovable plate 64. The first half housing 6 a also includes a pair ofstop blocks 65 positioned near the access slit 640 and on both sides ofthe removable plate 64. The second half housing 6 b also has twopartition plates 69.

The cleaning fluid bottle 8 is received in a middle portion of thehousing 6. As shown in FIG. 8, the cleaning fluid bottle 8 includes amain body 82 received within the housing 6 and a nozzle 84 exposed bythe opening 61. The cleaning fluid bottle 8 is received between twopartition plates 69. The main body 82 of the cleaning fluid bottle 8 isexposed by push holes 66 a and 66 b.

According to the present invention, the optical lens cleaner 1′ alsoincludes a cap 9 for covering the nozzle 84 of the cleaning fluid bottle8. According to the embodiment, the cleaning tissue 100 is received inone side of the housing 6 and exposed by the access slit 640.

The cleaning brush 7 is received within the other side of the housing 6.As shown in FIG. 8, the cleaning brush 7 has a main body 72, a button74, a brush head 76 and a positioning pin 78. The main body 72 isslidably positioned within the sliding groove 62, and the button 74 isexposed by the side groove hole 621. The brush head 76 extends from andis exposed by the housing 6 through the bottom through hole 620. Thepositioning pin 78 is resiliently and integrally formed with the mainbody 72. The positioning pin 78 is slidably positioned in one of thepositioning grooves 672. According to the embodiment, the brush head 76is connected with one end of the main body 72. The cleaning brush 7 ismanually guided along the guide groove 63 positioned in one side of thehousing 6.

The advantage of the present invention that the cleaning fluid bottle 8,the cleaning tissue 100 and the cleaning brush 7 are respectivelyconnected within the middle portion and two sides of the housing 6. Thecleaning fluid bottle 8 can store much more cleaning fluid, and thepresent invention can receive much more cleaning tissue.

Reference is made to FIG. 12. FIG. 12 illustrates a cross-sectional viewof a housing of an optical lens cleaner according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention. The cleaning fluid bottle 8includes a nozzle 84′ that is a spray dispenser. The spray dispenser hasa straw extending into an inner space of the cleaning fluid bottle 8.The cleaner fluid is pumped out of the cleaning fluid bottle 8 bypushing the nozzle 84′, so push holes in the sides of the housing 6 areunnecessary. Besides, according to the present invention, the cleaningbrush 7′ may be positioned on the surface of the housing 2 and thus notoccupy the inner space of the housing 6. As shown in FIG. 12, thepositioning pin 62′ exposed by the guide groove 63′ is positioned in theside of the housing 6. The cleaning brush 7′ has a guide groove 78′ forreceiving the positioning pin 62′ so that the cleaning brush 7′ ismanually guided along the guide groove 63′ and used to position thepositioning pin 62′. The cleaning brush 7′ may be snapped onto thesurface of the housing 6′.

Advantages of the present invention are as follows:

1. All cleaning tools are securely stored in the housing to constitutedan integrated optical lens cleaner. The optical lens cleaner isconvenient to use and carry. The cleaning tools of the optical lenscleaner will not be lost or polluted by dust.

2. Push holes are exposed by the housing of the cleaning fluid bottle sothat the cleaning fluid bottle is easily pressed to pump the cleaningfluid out.

3. The cleaning tissue exposed by the access slit is easily extracted.The cleaning tissue may be continuous, and cut off by the removableplate.

4. The brush handle of the cleaning brush is slideably positioned in thesliding groove of the housing. Thus, the cleaning brush is easily movedand does not fall out of the housing.

While the invention has been described with reference to the preferredembodiments, the description is not intended to be construed in alimiting sense. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claimswill cover any such modifications or embodiments as may fall within thescope of the invention defined by the following claims and theirequivalents.

1. An optical lens cleaner, comprising: a housing, having an openingpositioned in a top thereof, and having a access slit positioned in oneside thereof for accessing a cleaning tissue; a cleaning fluid bottle,including a main body received within the housing and a nozzle exposedby an opening; and a cleaning brush, positioned at one side of thehousing.
 2. The optical lens cleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein thehousing includes a first half housing and a second half housing, thefirst half housing and the second half housing have correspondingcoupling elements, and the first half housing and the second halfhousing are connected by coupling.
 3. The optical lens cleaner asclaimed in claim 2, wherein the cleaning fluid bottle is positionedbetween the coupling elements.
 4. The optical lens cleaner as claimed inclaim 2, wherein a removable plate is retractable and extends from afringe of the second half housing, a rack is integrally formed with afringe of the removable plate, and the first half housing also includesa pair of stop blocks positioned near the access slit and on both sidesof the removable plate.
 5. The optical lens cleaner as claimed in claim1, wherein at least one push hole is positioned in a side of thehousing, and the cleaning fluid bottle is exposed by the push hole andhas a cap to cover the nozzle.
 6. The optical lens cleaner as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the nozzle is a spray dispenser.
 7. The optical lenscleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing has a sliding groove,wherein the cleaning brush is received within the housing, has a mainbody slidably positioned within the sliding groove, and a brush headextending from and exposed by the housing.
 8. The optical lens cleaneras claimed in claim 7, wherein a slidable stop plate is positioned atthe housing and abuts a bottom of the cleaning brush, the slidable stopplate includes a plurality of positioning grooves, and a positioning pinextends from the main body of the cleaning brush and is slidablypositioned in one of the positioning grooves.
 9. The optical lenscleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing is substantiallycylindrical, the cleaning fluid bottle is received within a top of thehousing, the cleaning tissues are received within a bottom of thehousing, and the cleaning brush is received within the bottom of thehousing and near sides of the cleaning tissues.
 10. The optical lenscleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing is substantially aelliptic cylinder, the cleaning fluid bottle is received within a middleportion of the housing, the cleaning tissue is received within the oneside of the housing, the cleaning brush is received with the other sideof the housing, a slidable stop plate is positioned at the housing andincludes a plurality of positioning grooves, and a positioning pin ispositioned at the cleaning brush and slidably positioned in one of thepositioning grooves.